Picture cards were lesson helps designed to make religious schooling more consistent and uniform. They were usually keyed to a particular lesson for each Sunday with the lesson illustrated on one side and accompanied by questions and relevant text on the verso. The cards were designed so that students could literally put them in their pockets and take them home. Much of the imagery was derived from religious art already in circulation among American religious educators at the time. Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" was the basis for presenting illustrations of Christ and his twelve disciples.

The original Bereans were inhabitants of the ancient city of Berea who, according to the Book of Acts 17:11, "... received the word [of God] with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily." Later churches adopted the name Berean to reflect this emphasis on the primacy of scripture.